From January through March 42 students from as young as six-years-old to as old as thirteen-years-old gathered every Friday to create magic together. The magic invoked was theater at its finest complete with pirates, heroes, and villains. This fun twist on the old Treasure Island classic by Robert Louis Stevenson featured Josie, an adventurous and courageous young girl, as the main character. The theme of the play was one of empowerment, imagination, and actualization as Josie learns that in the end it truly is always her adventure no matter what obstacles and challenges come her way. As the performance drew nearer it became clearer and clearer that these youngsters were transforming and evolving not only as confident young actors and techies, but also as an extremely multi-aged and connected ensemble. Whispered cues were hurriedly exchanged backstage as actors reminded each other of their blocking, while stagehands stepped into their less visible yet powerful roles of supporting the production as a whole. By the time the curtains closed on that epic first and last performance, those 42 students stood together as friends, artists, storytellers, performers, and family. Huzzah and congratulations to these brave pirates!
I love, love, love the design projects that you chose! You all “went big” – nobody played it safe and picked something easy. And here you go, making change in the world. This is why teenagers rule. – Niki Gilbert
The students’ innovative ideas to create change within the school and greater community were so inspiring! I can’t wait to see the continued impact they will make in the community! – Sandra McCassim
I liked how each of the students had a voice. The process that was used required research, work and much thought. They taught us, the parents, and I loved it! – Dianne Caldwell
The creativity was amazing. It was so inspiring to see Omegans dive in and work hard! You all will be the change that we want to see in this world!! – Ali Banchiere
I was struck by the breadth of issues students had identified; from concerns within our Rainbow community, like bathroom beautification and parking lot safety, to global problems, like global warming, and many in between. – Tracy Hildebrand
In our work we are constantly having to come up with creative solutions to the challenges we face. After observing how the kids used the Design Process to facilitate out-of-the-box ideas, we plan to incorporate this structure into our brainstorming sessions at work. Way to go kiddos! Go out and change the world… it needs you! – Molly Irani
I felt that due to the feedback the students collected throughout their process from classmates and parents, their inventions and ideas were realistic and useful. They were professional and proud in their presentations. – Jen Lauzon
I enjoyed learning a little more about each Omegan; what interests you, what moves you to act on your feelings, interests, and passions, and how you explain your process and share with others. I was inspired by your creativity and innovations. I am hopeful for our future with young people like you doing great things in the world. – Caryn Hanna
Projects like yours do not always work out perfectly. Just like the Wright Brothers making designs, we work on some things, they fail, and we change them. I loved how you were clear and honest about both what did work and about things that didn’t work or might need to be changed. This shows that real learning – and inventing – was happening! – Chris Weaver
Skills learned in the Design Fair will serve a for a lifetime. – Stewart Stokes
I loved how enthusiastic the kids were about their topics as well as how well they presented them. Having them think in this way is really critical as citizens of this planet! Thank you kids! – Jennifer Lazinsk
Several of the presentations gave examples of how each of us could change our daily behavior to improve our environment and here at home we have already changed several things. Others made me more aware of social issues that had not occurred to me and presented doable solutions. I have been to many adult presentations on various issues and the difference was unbelievable. The energy and enthusiasm as well as the wealth of information was inspiring. – Sherry Hill
I was totally blown away by the composure, confidence and maturity displayed by the Omegans at the design fair… At each stop I felt engaged, informed and inspired. It was very moving to see these young changemakers in action. I have no doubt these young people are on their way to being adults who move through life truly “walking the walk” not just talking the talk. – Rachel Hagen
I was so inspired and impressed to see the variety of conundrums being tackled in such innovative ways for the design projects. The sixth graders were also very impressed, and are already talking excitedly about what they’d like to do for their own design projects. – Jenny Armocida
I was impressed with the courage to confront big issues in practical ways. For instance, climate change is a scary proposition but seeing the kids ready and eager to find solutions in immediate practical ways was inspiring. Equally so with issues of gender and animal safety and on down the list. – Billy Goodrum
I could hear murmurings from guests as they left the room saying it is people like these students that will better our world. I felt inspired. I felt proud. I felt humbled. – Susan Waddel
Kaleidoscope: The many colorful things happening at Rainbow, from the Executive Director
Hello beautiful Rainbow Community. I am so happy spring is here! It was a mild winter in terms of weather, but emotionally speaking, I found it hard to keep the ol’ disposition sunny during the dark days of winter. How about you? Was it a little harder to be patient with your family or community? At school, the kids seem fine with the darker days. In fact, in our fast-paced, extroverted world, the slower, inward days of winter are a time for the children to focus on academics. At your child’s conference, you will find they have accomplished a lot over the winter months.
No matter what one’s age, the gloriousness of spring lifts the spirits, and it is good to see everyone outside more often. Every grade, K-8 is busy with their citizen science outdoor projects. What is citizen science? It’s the collection and analysis of data that is contributed to national scientific projects. So essentially, our students are participating in collaborative projects with professional scientists throughout the year to help identify trends or changes locally, regionally and nationally! Here are the projects our students are participating in:
Kindergarten and 2nd grade – Nature’s Notebook – recording observations of local plants and animals.
First grade – Project Squirrel – tracking our squirrel population.
Third, fourth and fifth grade – Project eBird – tracking bird populations on our campus and other local areas.
Omega – Project Budburst – tracking plant phenophases throughout the year.
Speaking of science, did you see the cool one minute video that Michael and Ange made from the Design Fair and Science Fair? If not, CLICK HERE, and be sure to share it on social media!
Keeping Tuition Affordable: Help Crack the Nut! It sounds like there is going to be good attendance at this Community Circle meeting coming up on Tuesday, March 22nd, 4 – 6pm in the 4th Grade Classroom. Child care is free during the meeting. Please be a part of this important discussion. (More information is at the bottom of this Kaleidoscope.)
YOU make all the difference in the world
One of the strategies for “cracking the nut” is to raise grant funds, but this requires proof that our program works. That requires lots of data, and YOUR data counts, literally! PLEASE CLICK HERE NOW, and complete the research survey that PhD candidate, Alan Bush, has created. Alan is tabulating all the answers and providing us with a report. What an awesome opportunity – don’t miss it!
YOUR CHILDREN make all the difference in the world
Our Rainbow kids never cease to amaze me. I recently received this message from the highly esteemed Dr. Theo Dawson:
Hi Renee,
I’ve been checking out your students’ Reflective Judgment scores today and I think they may well be the most impressive results we’ve ever seen. It’s making my heart sing!
Warmly,
—Theo
Dr. Dawson, and her team at Lectica, has spent almost three decades creating tests that can assess student’s complexity of thinking and ability to reason ethically. This work is based out of research from the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the work of Kurt Fischer. Rainbow’s fourth through eighth graders took the Reflective Judgment test, which reveals how they think about inquiry, evidence, learning & the mind, truth & certainty, conflict resolution, persuasion, and deliberation.
As you can imagine, I was pretty thrilled to get a personal email from the head of the Lectica saying our students’ scores may be the best they have ever seen!! Soon, we will be receiving the formal score reports and sharing them with your children and with the world. It is so exciting to finally have real scientific evidence proving what we already knew – Rainbow’s holistic program creates kids who are highly ethical, empathetic, and cognitively developed to a level of sophistication that is beyond their years. (Of course, Rainbow students score very well on traditional standardized tests too, but those tests only show a small sliver of rote skill attainment, without showing complexity of thinking or soft skill development.)
Rainbow students’ high level of social/emotional skills will serve them very well when applying to colleges. The most prestigious universities are now changing their application processes to make the SAT optional, and to stress empathy as the most important quality– and this trend is going to become much stronger by the time your kids are applying for college. I recommend clicking the link for the following Washington Post article: To get into college, Harvard report advocates for kindness instead of overachieving.
Everyone a Changemaker!
Rainbow’s new Director of Equity, Kyja Wilburn, and I attended an Ashoka Changemaker Summit in February. CLICK HERE to view Kyja’s presentation on our experience at the summit, information about the Changemaker network, and some of her thoughts about building equity in schools. If you haven’t met Kyja yet, this is a great introduction. Incidentally, Kyja and first grade assistant, Clarissa, also coached Odyssey of the Mind this year, and our team is going to state!
Smart People Strategizing
On Wednesday, March 16, one of my professors from Columbia University Teacher’s College, Lyle Yorks, and his colleague, Harold Penton, are consulting with the Rainbow board on something called Blue Ocean Strategizing, and they will be interviewing various people on campus for research they are conducting. (Another great opportunity for Rainbow!) I hope you get to meet them.
I can’t wait for Domain Day!
Domain Day is Friday, March 18, and the whole school is celebrating. Children will spend almost the whole day “specializing” in one of their favorite domains in multi-age groups. I am one of the leaders for the spiritual domain. Chris Weaver and I will be taking eight young children on a magical hero’s journey for the day. I LOVE my job!
Rainbow-ize everything!
It will take many years before the new section of campus is “Rainbow-ized” like our old campus, but we make creative progress little by little. This weekend, community muralist, Ian Wilkinson is painting a rainbow and a sun on the front of the Rainbow Community Center (auditorium) building. Ian has created more than 40 murals in Asheville. His most famous is the chess player painted on Lexington Ave underneath Highway 240.
As promised above, more information on the upcoming Community Circle:
On Tuesday, March 22nd from 4-6pm, in the Fourth Grade Classroom, RCS will hold a Community Circle meeting. No fee for childcare during the meeting. As a community we have such amazing ideas and we each have incredible contributions to make to our school. We work together to solve so many challenges. At this meeting, we need the collective wisdom of our community members to “help crack the nut!”
Rainbow Community School needs to solve the largest puzzle that we have. The board calls it “the nut we have to crack.” Essentially, the “nut” is that we charge tuition and that makes it hard to serve a wide array of families. The “nut” is trying to figure out how to keep tuition as low as possible, so that Rainbow education isn’t just for those in the highest social-economic demographic. At the same time, we need to have enough revenue coming in to pay our staff, maintain/improve facilities, and to keep a low teacher/student ratio and all the quality programming that we have. Currently, we do it by paying our staff very low salaries. Rainbow lead teachers make, on average, about $7,000 less a year than Buncombe County teachers and North Carolina ranks 46th in teacher pay in the US.
The board has decided that we have two major equity issues to tackle – racial equity and teacher pay equity. There are only two ways to solve the teacher pay equity issue – either save money by staffing more kids per teacher or increase revenues. Doing the former would compromise our quality, so that means focusing on the latter. So, how can we increase revenues? Tuition is our only consistent source of funding, and it makes up 95% of our revenues. Currently, tuition goes up quite a bit every year, just to keep up with the 3%-6% salary raise teachers receive annually. If we started providing larger staff raises, tuition would have to increase immensely.
How else can we raise more revenue— A LOT of revenue, like $200,000/year more– without making Rainbow totally unaffordable? We could have a much larger annual campaign, but the $80,000 we currently have is not easy. We could raise tuition steeply, but on a sliding fee scale. This has its obvious drawbacks. People have also suggested we have an additional fee each year and families below a certain income wouldn’t have to pay it. Again, this has some major drawbacks. While we may have to consider some of these options, the ultimate goal is to get creative and find funding – consistent annual funding — from outside the parent body.
COME TO THE COMMUNITY CIRCLE MEETING ON MARCH 22nd TO HELP US FIGURE THIS OUT AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
We need the collective wisdom of our community members to crack this nut!
What type of parent are you? Read this checklist to see if you help your child build resilience. My favorite is “Make the adage that there are at least two sides to every story a mantra in your home.”
Rainbow Community School has always been a safe haven for introverted children. In a world where social aggressiveness has be glorified, especially in the competitive public education model, Rainbow has always had a way of understanding and honoring the power of the introvert.
Three insights from Rainbow on educating introverts:
1. Provide “in-breath and out-breath” time. At Rainbow, we have active and “outward” times of day; but unlike most schools, those are balanced with “inward” times. Every day has moments of silence, such as when we take three breaths together at morning centering, or when we watch nature, or when we decide to have a meditational lunch.
2. Provide many speaking opportunities where introverts can share about something they are passionate about in a safe space — with their classmates. That eventually builds up to speaking in front of the whole community. However, if they are actually terrified, allow them to “pass” until they are comfortable. It takes time to build trust.
3. Allow introverts to find a role they are comfortable with. Instead of forcing a terrified child to sing in a performance, a Rainbow teacher might ask them to take on another role, such as being in charge of costumes or props. Such a role actually makes them a leader in the eyes of their peers, and builds confidence.
Why does Rainbow have such dedicated, mindful, creative, and loving teachers? Because we follow every single one of the recommendations in this article. Teachers are still treated like blue-collar workers by politicians. At Rainbow they are highly respected professionals who are provided time to collaborate with one another, autonomy to run their classroom, consistent and relevant professional development, and balance in their lives so they aren’t burned out. The result? Students who are dedicated, mindful, creative, and loving. Empowered teachers create empowered students.
